The God Culture: The Top Ten Lies Timothy Jay Schwab Teaches About the Philippines

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture is a liar. He lies about the Bible, he lies about Church history, and he lies about the history of the Philippines. That fact has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt in many articles on this website as I have dissected his videos and books. In this article I want to gather together ten of his most outrageous lies about Philippine history. Once these lies are taken into account the rest of his project falls through and Tim can be tossed off into the garbage where he belongs. Remember, Timothy Jay Schwab claims that in six years no one has disproven him, no one ever will disprove him, and that his book Solomon's Treasure is a "monumental case no one can disprove."

Lie #1: Filipinos Circumnavigated Africa to Trade with Greece and Israel

These are not in any necessary order but the number one lie, the most egregious falsehood Tim claims about the Philippines, is that Filipinos were engaged in trade with Israel and Greece via a circumnavigation of Africa. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 136

Even after Solomon, King Jehoshaphat attempted to rebuild and re-establish this trade with Ophir yet the ships were destroyed by Yahuah (1Ki. 22:48). Understand that is very close to the era in which the Northern Kingdom was about to be taken captive into the very land Jonah was preaching repentance and salvation. Therefore, Ophir had to bring goods to Israel instead which we see in Jonah’s story. The ships of Tarshish were certainly trading in Israel again travelling the long way around Africa to the port at Joppa (Jn. 1:1-3) as did the Three Kings after Messiah’s birth in about 6 B.C. or so.

What makes this lie so egregious is that it is an indisputable fact of history that no peoples were circumnavigating Africa to trade with Europe and Asia. Aside from Herodotus' mention of the Phonecians circumnavigating Africa one time there are no other claims of this type in the historical record until Bartolomeu Dias who made the first documented voyage around Africa in 1488. In his books and in his videos Timothy offers no historical sources whatsoever to prove that Filipinos were circumnavigating Africa. His only "proof", if you can call it that, is that Ophir and Tarshish are the Philippines and King Solomon's Red Sea port, from which ships sailed to those lands, was broken which necessitated going the long way around Africa. That is not proof, that is ad-hoc conjecture and it relies on the Philippines being Ophir and Tarshish which is absolutely false. 

Since writing this Tim has released a six part series allegedly proving that Greeks, Israelites, and Filipinos all circumnavigated Africa for trade. You can read my analysis of that here: The God Culture: Did the Ancient Greeks Circumnavigate Africa to Trade With the Philippines?

Lie #2: The Philippines is Tarshish and Ophir

This lie is based on a number of things. First of all his his resource test where he proves that the Philippines has the items brought back from Ophir and Tarshish. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 95

But proving that the Philippines is rich in gold and other resources is not the same as proving that the Philippines directly traded within the Mediterranean Basin by circumnavigating Africa. Tim never offers any concrete evidence that they did. While the Roman Empire did trade with India and as far as Vietnam where Roman coins have been found there is no evidence either cartographically or archeologically that Romans, Greeks, or ancient Israelites ever set foot in the Philippine archipelago or made this route by circumnavigating Africa.  Ptolemy's map of the known world ends with the Maylay Peninsula and does not show Southern Africa.

Tim even admits that India has all the resources brought back from Ophir. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 115

Every resource of Solomon tests as native to the Philippines and all other claims fail in this chapter except India

With this admission Tim has really shot himself in the foot. It is a fact that there was trade between India and the Mediterranean both overland and oversea. Josephus himself tells us that Ophir was in India. 

Antiquities 8.6.4

For he sent a sufficient number of men thither for pilots, and such as were skilful in navigation: to whom Solomon gave this command, that they should go along with his own stewards to the land that was of old called Ophir, but now the Aurea Chersonesus: which belongs to India: to fetch him gold.

As for the Philippines being Tarshish? That is based primarily on a misinterpretation of 2 Chronicles 20:36.  Tim actually conflates Ophir and Tarshish as being the same region.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 118-119

Solomon’s navy traversed far to reach these precious isles of gold – Ophir. One of the other names for this same region of Ophir is Tarshish which is fully and indisputably equated with Ophir in many passages. Is this because the writers of Kings and Chronicles disagree with each other? Not at all for they are the same place generally. In addition to 2 Chronicles 9, there are several scriptures which identify Tarshish especially the ships of Tarshish and they equate it to Ophir. The ships of Tarshish go to Ophir for gold and Tarshish for silver but both in the same area.

1 Kings 22:48 KJV

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.

2 Chronicles 20:36 KJV

And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in  Eziongeber.

Tim's interpretation here is that ships were being built on the Red Sea to go to Tarshish. But the port was broken thus when Jonah sailed from Joppa to Tarshish he was literally going to circumnavigate Africa to go to the Philippines. But there are no records of anyone making such a journey thus we can automatically rule that out. The proper interpretation of these verses is as follows: 

To make ships to go to Tarshish.—In 1Kings 22:48-49, we read: “Jehoshaphat made ships (i.e., a fleet) of Tarshish, to go to Ophir for gold; and it went not; for the ships were broken (i.e., wrecked) in Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships; and Jehoshaphat consented not.” There is no mention of a previous alliance and partnership in the ship-building with Ahaziah. Moreover, the expression of our text, “ships to go to Tarshish,” appears to be an erroneous paraphrase of “ships of Tarshish,” or “Tarshish-men,” as we might say; a phrase which really means, vessels built for long sea-voyages. According to Kings, the ships were built “to go to Ophir for gold;” in other words, to renew Solomon’s traffic with India from the port on the Red Sea.

To go to Tarshish. This clause, even if the text is not corrupt, yet cannot mean what it seems to say; but in the word "to go" (Hebrew, לָלֶכֶת) must mean, of the sort that were wont to go to Tarshish, i.e. that were used for the Tarshish trade. We are guided to some such explanation by 1 Kings 22:48, where it is said the ships were "ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir" (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 8:18). That the ships could not be to go to Tarshish is plain from the fact of the place, Ezion-geber (2 Chronicles 8:17, 18; 1 Kings 9:26), on the Red Sea, where they were built.

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_chronicles/20-36.htm

Another thing Tim misses completely in his testing of the resources is that tin, a resource brought back from Tarshish to Israel, has been subjected to rigorous chemical testing proving it did not originate in the Philippines. From the Wikipedia article about the ancient sources of tin we read the following:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_sources_and_trade_in_ancient_times

Evidence of direct tin trade between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean has been demonstrated through the analysis of tin ingots dated to the 13th-12th centuries BC from sites in Israel, Turkey and modern-day Greece; tin ingots from Israel, for example, have been found to share chemical composition with tin from Cornwall and Devon (Great Britain).(Pernicka et al. 2019)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_sources_and_trade_in_ancient_times

Tin ingots found in Israel which date to the 13th-12th centuries BC are from Cornwall and Devon. Amazing. Nothing about the Philippines whatsoever in this article. Why? Because there was no tin trade between Israel and the Philippines. If there was Tim does not even remotely try to prove it. He simply asserts that there is currently tin in the Philippines and then moves on. So shall I.

Lie # 3: Pigafetta Reported Seeing Elephants in the Philippines

One of the resources brought back from Ophir was ivory. Tim claims a few ancient fossils of mini-elephants and rhinos proves that there was a thriving ivory trade between the Philippines and Israel. He further claims that Pigafetta claimed to have seen elephants in the Philippines. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 102

Even history agrees as in 1521, Pigafetta witnessed elephants as he mentioned them multiple times especially in Palawan.

“When we arrived at the city (Palawan), we were obliged to wait about two hours in the prahu, until there came thither two elephants covered with silk...” –Pigafetta, 1521

This is not true. Pigafetta's account, which can be read here in sections 110-118, took place after the death of Magellan and the route can be discerned from his journal. They left Cebu for Bohol, next to Cagayan, then northwest to Palawan (Palaoan), then southwest to another island. There is only one island to the southwest of Palawan and that is Borneo. Pigafetta never reported seeing elephants in the Philippines. It is a complete fabrication on Tim's part in order to bolster his false claims. 

Lie #4: The Lequois and Lucoes People Are the Same

Tim claims the the Lequois and Lucoes people are the same people who live in Luzon. This is absolutely false. His lie is rooted first of all in Pigafetta's journal.

Solomon's Treasure, pgs. 162-163

We reviewed early in this chapter, Barbosa identified an affluent people called the Lequios and Magellan scratched out this name and identified them as Ophir and Tarshish equating these peoples. Antonio Pigafetta identifies their origin as Luzon Island Philippines not Taiwan, Japan nor Malaysia. In fact, Japan is recorded as having “no junks” and are not Lequios according to Tome Pires and the Lequios are identified by their junk ships by Pigafetta, Pinto, Barbosa and others. However, Antonio Pigafetta tells us where the Lequios originated.

[From Visayas] “Towards the North-west is the island of Lozon, which is at two days’ distance; a large island, to which come to trade every year six or eight junks of the people called Lequii.” “...One of these junks carries as much cargo as our ships.” – Antonio Pigafetta, 1521

This clearly reads that the Lequios, who originate in Luzon, journey to Cebu regularly to trade in their six or more, large junk ships just as Pinto describes.

Pigafetta clearly writes that the Lequii traveled to Luzon to trade. The Lucoes are the inhabitants of Luzon. He is by no means saying the people of Luzon are known as the Lequii. Then to further back up this nonsense Tim cites Ferdinand Pinto who actually visited the Lequios when he was shipwrecked in their land and gave the exact latitude of its location.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 163

Contemporary to Magellan, Ferdinand Pinto classified the Lequios and Chinese as the wealthiest in the Orient trading in gold and silver especially. He defines the Lequios Islands as an archipelago, not Taiwan, as well as a separate country. He also differentiates the Lequios as not Japan, China, Indonesia nor Malaysia but in between those. Pinto also travelled to the Lequios Islands from Malaysia headed North which he placed in the modern Philippines specifically on 9N20.  

It is not true that Pinto placed the Lequois Islands at latitude 9N20. 

In this manner we departed from Pungor the capital City of the Island of Lequios, of which I will here make a brief relation, to the end that if it shall one day please God to inspire the Portugal Nation, principally for the exaltation and increase of the Catholick faith, and next for the great benefit that may redound thereof, to undertake the Conquest of this Island, they may know where first to begin, as also the commodities of it, and the easiness of this Conquest. We must understand then that this Island of Lequios, scituated in nine and twenty degrees, is two hundred leagues in circuit, threescore in length, and thirty in bredth.

Pinto, pg. 188

The latitude of the Lequios Islands is 9 and 20 degrees which is 29, not 9 degrees. That places it well north of the Philippines. Timothy Jay Schwab gets this completely wrong. 9N and 20 does not mark the Philippines. It marks a place off the West coast of Africa

Lie #5: The Spanish Described Certain Filipinos as "Big, Bearded, White Men."

Tim claims that a document in the Spanish archives describes certain Filipinos as being big, bearded white men. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 163

Collecion General de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas, Document #98 mentions the Lequios were “big, bearded, and white men.” They traded “gold and silver.” 

This appears to throw a wrench into this entire narrative in history perhaps. How could Filipinos be big, bearded, white men? That is not a description of the Japanese either. This is an ancient residual reference to Solomon’s navy of which the Spanish have all but wiped so much history that would likely confirm this even further. However, we have enough to prove this thoroughly and that will suffice.

Such a description is never given in the document to which Tim is referring. Here is a translation of that section which is at the end of the document. 

In front of this said China and its lands are many islands to the sea and beyond these islands is a very large land that They say that it is terra firme, other islands where three or four junks of white people, who are very large and very rich, came to Malac every year. They bring a lot of gold in rods and silver and silk and a lot of very good wheat and very beautiful porcelain and other merchandise and they carry a lot of pepper and all the other things that the Chinese sayings carry to those who are called lequios, those from Malac say that they are better people than older merchants and richer and more dressed and honored than the Chinese whose people until now We have no news because they never came to Malac after the Portuguese went there.

Collecion Documento 98 pg. 137-138

Not a word about beards. The Spanish word "barba" does not show up in the text. The people being described are the Lequios and we just saw that the Lequios Islands are not the Philippines. The description here is of the Ryukyu Islands not the Philippines. The Philippines is not in front of China it is to the southeast of China.

Lie #6: No One Knows Why Cebu is Called the Queen City of the South

The lie that no one knows why Cebu is called the Queen City of the South is so confounding because it is easily disproved if one bothers to research the name.

Solomon's Treasure, pg 87-88

Cebu City today is still known as the “Queen City of the South” and no one seems to coherently know where that identifier originated. Iloilo, Panay, also in Visayas near Cebu, has the same nomenclature. It likely originated in Matthew 12:42 as Messiah called Sheba the “Queen of the South” which is the same connotation of Cebu and Iloilo today (Matt. 12:42, Luke 11:30). Along the same vein, Sheba means 7 and Cebu just by chance happens to be in Region 7. Additionally, is it not fascinating that Lake Sebu in Mindanao has Seven Falls or Sheba Falls?

The truth is that this name was first bestowed upon Iloilo in 1898 by the Queen Regent of Spain and then transferred to Cebu in the 1980s.

Due to the loyalty of the Ilonggos, the city of Iloilo was honored with the perpetual title of Muy Noble (Most Noble). The Royal Decree granting this title was signed on 1 March 1898 by Queen Regent Maria Cristina. Over time, this title earned for Iloilo City the reputation of it being "The Queen's Favored City in the South" or simply "Queen's City in the South", and was later evolve to "The Queen City of the South", being the second Spanish port of importance next to Manila, and being located South of the Archipelago's Capital. On a side note, at the beginning of the American period until the Second World War, Cebu became the second port of importance (Iloilo having been partly ravaged by bombardment, fire, and riots during the American occupation of Iloilo City).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iloilo_City#The_Revolutionary_Period_(1896)

Iloilo City was originally known as the "Queen City of the South," a title that evolved from another Iloilo title, "Queen's Favored City of the South." From being the Queen Regent of Spain, Maria Christina's favorite city in the south of Manila in the late 19th century. Iloilo became the second-most important city in the Philippines at that time, giving it a reason to evolve to the title of "Queen City of the South" until the mid 20th century, after World War II, leaving the city devastated and causing investors to flee to nearby Cebu City. Cebu later claimed the title after it surpassed Iloilo's economy in the 80s. Although some people disagree with Cebu's claim since the title is of historical significance to Iloilo alone and not for which city is the next second-most important in the country

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu_City

If Timothy Jay Schwab had bothered to research the origin of the name Queen City of the South he would not have written something so dumb as to say the name originates in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a recent name applied only 40 years ago. 

Lie #7: Equating Tagalogs With All Filipinos

This lie is actually quite stupid. The Philippines is made up of hundreds of people groups of which the Tagalogs are one among many. Yet this brainlet writes the following:

Solomon's Treasure, pg 290

One thing we find extremely interesting is that the Filipino word “Tagalog” breaks down as “taga” and “ilog” meaning “People of the River.” Yet, we do not find a significant modern river in the whole Philippines that would define the inhabitants of the thousands of islands. No common denominator found in modern times. Should they not be referenced as the “People of the Ocean” instead. Here we have yet another clue that reveals this theory as they are the “People of The River” – the Pison River from Eden. Now it makes sense and no surprise in the land of Havilah.

For as much as Timothy Jay Schwab loves the Philippines one would think he would know that the Tagalogs are one people group among many and they all hail from Luzon. 

The word “Tagalog” is believed to have been derived from either one or both sets of contractions: “taga-ilog” and/or “taga-alog”. The prefix “taga” means “coming from” or “originating from” referring to a place of birth or residence. The word “ilog” means river. The word “alog” means a shallow place in a stream where people could wade to cross to the other side. The first word “taga-ilog” is the version in the explanation of the name of the Tagalog that they were river people.

The second word “taga-alog” is related to the first concept and was first articulated by H.O. Beyer who said that the ancient Tagalogs were people of the lowland areas where the “alog” was found.

The Tagalog culture was essentially a river and water-based culture. Fishing and agriculture were predominant means of livelihood. Most of the ancient cultural centers of the Tagalog regions were founded on river banks, specifically near the delta and the “wawa” or the mouth of the river, where the river meets the sea.

Riverine communities, especially those by the delta and river-mouth became centers of trade and commerce. In pre-Hispanic Philippines, some of these trade centers were Maynila, Tondo, Sapa, Pasig through the Pasig River; Talim, Bay, Pila, Lumbang through the Laguna de Bai; Balayan though Pansipit River; Lipa and Taal through Bonbon or Taal Lake.

https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-communities-and-traditional-arts-sccta/northern-cultural-communities/lowland-cultural-group-of-the-tagalogs/

This lie is in service to another big lie that the Rivers from Eden are now undersea ocean trenches. You can read where I dismantle that notion here. 

Lie #8: The Biblical Land of Havilah is the Philippines

Tim claims that the Biblical land Havilah is the Philippines. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 60

The ancient land of Adam and Eve is designated as Havilah in Genesis 2 and it is represented by three resources which lead to only one nation even today. The Bible is proficient. This reminisces of the Rivers from Eden which we will test in Chapter 17. We truly attempt to leave no stone unturned in this expedition.

Genesis 2:10-12 KJV

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 60

This chapter is ridiculously byzantine as Tim ferrets out the meaning of the word Havilah, it means Eve's curse which means the real name of the Philippines is actually Curse. The actual meaning of Havilah is circle.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2341/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Then Tim attempts to test the resources attributed to it. 

What it comes down to is that because the river Pison "compasseth the whole land of Havilah" that means we have to find a land entirely encircled by a river. According to Tim that would be the pre-flood Philippines. The Pison river bed is now the ocean trenches which surround the nation. But there are no ocean trenches completely and continuously surrounding the Philippines.

Here is what the Philippines ocean trench system looks like. 

https://www.air-worldwide.com/blog/posts/2019/4/the-philippines-is-shaking-again/

These trenches do not "completely surround this whole land of the Philippines" as Tim says it must. Tim's solution is that they were filled in with sediment during the flood. That is ad-hoc reasoning which he has not proven and cannot prove. I admit he does have an interesting theory about the ocean trenches being river systems but that is all he has. He has no evidence they were nor can he ever provide such evidence. Many of the trenches are in fact tectonic plate boundaries. The likely place for this Havilah is, as the Blueletterbible says, near the Caspian Sea. However there is another Havilah and the Bible tells us plainly where it is located. Havilah is in Southern Arabia near Egypt.

Genesis 25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

1 Samuel 5:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

I do not believe Tim read his Bible and missed this information. I believe he chose to ignore it. Rather than leaving no stone unturned he has declined to examine Genesis 25:18 and 1 Samuel 5:7 both in his book and his videos because it overturns his thesis.

Lie #9: Lapulapu Rejected Colonialism

Tim mentions Lapulapu several times in his book but it is in a video where he claims that Lapulapu's killing of Magellan was a rejection of colonialism.

https://youtu.be/130c3XUuPEs

Today is a very special day for the world. It marks the five hundredth anniversary of one of the greatest stories in the fight to stop foreign invaders from coming in and taking over our lands. Yes, the story of a man and his followers who indeed stopped the invasion, killing their leader Magellan. Then in a separate encounter killing his replacement and brother-in-law and other leaders and then they chased them out of the country with a fleet of ships. That’s what Pigafetta’s journal says, and we cover. This is an inspiration to the whole world who was being conquered by colonialism yet this man and his people put up a standard and stopped them the story of Lapu-Lapu five hundred years ago today. Wow.

This is simply untrue. Lapulapu did not kill Magellan because he was invading or because he rejected the King of Spain. In fact, he said he would offer the King of Spain his fealty. What he did not like was having to submit to Rajah Humabon. Tim does not know this because he is relying only on Pigafetta's journal. Just goes to show how his research is not very deep at all.

The following comes from Dr. Danilo Gerona who wrote a book titled, "Ferdinand Magellan, The Armada de Maluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines." This history is based on years of research and reading primary source documents tucked away in Spain. Here is what he writes concerning this alternate testimony.

Some sources however offered a different version regarding Lapulapu’s response claiming he readily accepted Magellan’s offer of Spanish sovereignty, even expressing willingness to comply with the demands for the payment of tribute. According to a manuscript by one who simply signed himself the Genoese pilot, but probably Maestre Bautista, Magellan demanded from Lapulapu, among them, “three goats, three pigs, three loads of rice, and three loads of millet and other provisions for the ships.” The source noted that the chieftain was prompt and straightforward with his reply. As to the “threes” being asked, he had no opposition in complying with “twos” and if Magellan was satisfied with these, they would be complied with at once. If not, he would send whatever pleased him. 

Another version concurred with the narrative of Lapulapu’s outright submission to Magellan’s demands, including the payment of tribute. It was the demand of Magellan for him to accept the leadership of a fellow native chief, Humabon, which provoked the Mactan chieftain to anger. Primary sources claimed that the reason which prompted Magellan to explode in anger was Lapu-lapu’s alleged refusal to kiss the hand of Humabon as an acknowledgement of his subordination. Another member of the expedition who made his testimony upon their return in Spain, Fernando de Bustamante, barber-surgeon of the Victoria, in agreement with the other testimonies, also recalled that the natives of Mactan were actually willing to accept Spanish sovereignty but were not disposed to accept Humabon as their overlord: “...those of Mactan wished to obey the king of Castile but the said Ferdinand Magellan told them to kiss the hand of the king of Zebu and those do not wish to kiss the hand of the king of Zebu.” It appears that Lapulapu was not the only chief who regarded the order of Magellan to accept Humabon as a supreme ruler of the islands for others shared such animosity as evident in the testimony made by Juan Sebastian Elcano on October 18, 1522, few weeks after their arrival, in Valladolid. 

His testimony reads: 

Magellan went from the island of Zubu to the island of Bohol, or to the island of Matan, sending bateles to wage war with the mend so that those from other islands may obey the King of Zubu; and those they say that they would obey the King Our Lord, and would give him parias, (a tribute paid by one prince to another); but that they would not obey the King of Zubu since they are also of the same status; and that they would give the King Our Lord jewels of gold.  

While Magellan seemed to have used Humabon as a political ally to establish his base in Cebu as a springboard for establishing Spanish hegemony, Humabon, on the other hand had also used Magellan to coerce others to submission to his authority. As Pigafetta recalled Humabon was said to have asked Magellan: “but that if the captain would send him the following night one boat full of men to give him assistance, he would fight and subdue his rival. On the receipt of this message, the captain decided to go himself with three boats.” 

https://sulugardenfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Gerona-Battle-of-Mactan-for-Miagao-with-foreword-from-JRM-and-for-Web-FINAL.pdf

Do you see how this story is not so cut and dry? Not so black and white? According to these three men the rest of the story is that Humabon, the King of Cebu or Zubu, was using Magellan to manipulate others to be placed under his authority. He was playing political chess like those in power still do today. The old man Lapulapu, eyewitness accounts describe him as an old man about 70 years old, refused to kiss Humabon's hand though he did not refuse to recognize the sovereignty of Spain. Why did Pigafetta omit these details? More of this alternate testimony, given while under oath, can be found on pages 285-295 of volume 4 of Martín Fernández de Navarrese's collected documents concerning Spanish voyages to the east. Those ten pages are in need of translation so all can read that eyewitness testimony which fills in the gaps in Pigafetta's account.

Lie #10: Filipinos Rejected the Santo Niño After Magellan was Killed in Battle

This is another lie that is easily disproved if one reads the sources. Magellan gave the King of Cebu the Santo Niño. Tim says when Magellan was killed Lapulapu took the statue as a trophy of war to Mactan and it was never worshipped.

Solomon's Gold, pg. 257

Not only was this a wholesale repudiation of Magellan, Barbosa and everything European including their religion and their King, but when the Spanish returned to Mactan forty years later in 1565, Filipinos there were not worshipping the Santo Niño idol left behind.

“We stopped at an island where Magallanes’s men were killed...”

As we have just said, they declared that not only they would not give us anything, but that they were willing to fight us. Thus we were forced to accept the challenge. We landed our men and disposed the artillery of the ships, which were close to the houses of the town, so that the firing of the artillery from the said ships and the arquebuses on land drove the enemy away; but we were unable to capture any of them, because they had their fleet ready for the sea. They abandoned their houses, and we found in them nothing except an image of the child Jesus, and two culverins, one of iron and one of bronze, which can be of no service to us; it is believed that they were brought here at the time of Magallanes.” 

–Letter from Royal Officials of Filipinas from Cubu, 1665

The inhabitants of Mactan took everything from their houses of value and fled except very minor items. All that remained from their houses was two culverins and the Santo Nino idol left by Magellan in Cebu. He did not leave this idol in Mactan. Perhaps Lapu Lapu secured it from the King of Zubu as a trophy of sort. However, there is zero evidence this statue was worshipped that entire time between 1521 and 1565 in Mactan. In fact, the people of Mactan were sending a message in leaving behind practically only this one thing. They did not worship it and stating “we think you left something when you were here last.”

This letter is in a book of other documents about the same events. From the very book Tim quotes, The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, Volume II, 1521-1569, we read the following:

The fleet set sail for Cebú, where after landing they found the village deserted. Legazpi ordered that each mess of four soldiers should take one house and the rest of the houses be destroyed. Everything was removed from the houses before any were destroyed. The general ordered that a thick set palisade of stakes be built, including therein a few wells of fresh water. "This village was built in triangular shape, with two water-fronts and one land side." The artillery was placed to defend the coast, while the Spaniards relied on the palisade for protection on the land side, until the fort could be built. Companies were sent out to scour the country for food, and "always brought back fowl, hogs, rice, and other things … and some good gold." The natives to the number of one hundred came to make peace one day. "In this town when we entered we found therein a child Jesus. A sailor named Mermeo found it. It was in a wretched little house, and was covered with a white cloth in its cradle, and its little bonnet quite in order. The tip of its nose was rubbed off somewhat, and the skin was coming off the face. The friars took it and carried it in procession on a feast day, from the house where it was found to the church that they had built."

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/13280/pg13280.html

Mactan is also RIGHT NEXT TO CEBU so really Tim is splitting hairs here. It would not be surprising if these new arrivals mixed up Mactan and Cebu. In fact Legazpi makes this same conflation in this very volume.

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/13280/pg13280.html

in that part where the men of Magallanes were killed, called the island of Cubu

He is also wrong that the natives did not worship the Santo Niño. They admitted they did so.

He continued his voyage until reaching the island of Sebu, where he anchored, induced by the convenience of a good port and by the nature of the land. At first he was received peacefully by the natives and by their chief Tupas; but later they tried to kill him and his companions, for the Spaniards having seized their provisions, the natives took up arms against the latter; but the opposite to their expectations occurred, for the Spaniards conquered and subdued them. Seeing what had happened in Sebu, the natives of other neighboring islands came peacefully before the adelantado, rendered him homage, and supplied his camp with a few provisions. The first of the Spanish settlements was made in that port, and was called the city of Sanctisimo Nombre de Jesus [Most holy name of Jesus], because a carved image of Jesus had been found in one of the houses of the natives when the Spaniards conquered the latter, which was believed to have been left there by the fleet of Magallanes. The natives held the image in great reverence, and it wrought miracles for them in times of need. The Spaniards placed it in the monastery of St. Augustine, in that city.

History of the Philippines, Antonio Morga

It is simply not true that the Santo Niño was not found in Cebu or that it was not worshipped. To this day its finding in Cebu is celebrated every year by devotees and the people continue to pray to it for miracles.

Lie #11: The Garden of Eden is Underneath the Floor of the Sulu Sea

There are many people who think perhaps the Philippines is The Garden of Eden. Tim is not one of those people. In Tim's worldview the earth was created without oceans and was watered by 5 very powerful rivers which are now underwater ocean trenches. The Garden of Eden was planted on what is now the ocean floor next to several mountains. When the flood came the barren earth filled with water submerging The Garden of Eden in mud and dirt but it was protected and enclosed by golden walls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtS6yWyF36I&lc=UgxoE3-2XOZuenv9i5p4AaABAg.9_KmD349Kxj9_LGgO2aDv-

He lined the walls of the Temple with that same gold that lines the walls of the Garden of Eden. 

Enoch and Elijah remain The Garden of Eden's lone inhabitants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfdTMiCfBWU&lc=UgxiTKFmCuLarBbF7Pl4AaABAg.9Z2RI53OS2r9Z3PQPuLz7g

...Enoch nor Elijah who are both in the Garden of Eden still alive but not in Heaven

The several surrounding mountains became the archipelago known as the Philippines. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg 299

Therefore, somehow the Garden of Eden is enclosed down within the Earth just West of Havilah, Philippines.

Now, is this a lie? Yes but more technically what it really is is a fanciful ad-hoc theory that absolutely cannot be falsified which means it is an untenable theory. Perhaps one can do some digging or run sonar tests to see what lies below the ocean floor but no one is doing that least of all Timothy Jay Schwab. I know Tim throws in all kinds of old maps and even uses the Book of Jubilees to make his case for this lie but that's all he's got, a case resting on the information he has gathered together. He has no physical evidence that it is there. He has no concrete real proof at all and the whole idea is, prima facie, absurd. 

These are just ten of the many lies in Timothy Jay Schwab's book Solomon's Treasure. There are many more lies in his books and videos. If you want to read about them then read the articles I have written. If you are a fan of The God Culture just know that despite the overwhelming evidence I have brought against him Tim continues to dismiss me. He is simply not honest and he cannot stand the slightest bout of criticism. Let's end with some words of wisdom from Tim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj_DN8MRIx8&lc=UgzmLJyC65rlQPLg1L94AaABAg.9bJTPSq3YjP9bJU041aOWH

When you make up history that doesn't exist, you are a fool.

Indeed, Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture is a fool.

Ask The God Culture: Who Translated the Septuagint?

Welcome back to Ask The God Culture, the place where Timothy Jay Schwab will answer any question you may have. Our first question this week comes from Randy Claywell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp7gPSua-Yo&lc=UgwvVS17D_3xuW9G8o94AaABAg

Randy Claywell: It's my understanding that the Septuagint was translated by a group of Jews not Greeks.

The God Culture: There were NO Hebrews in Egypt at that time. The Bible is clear all the Southern Kingdom that was in Egypt either returned or died. The Hebrews who could do such with authority were in the Temple and we find their library in Qumran where they were exiled. No other library has such credibility as that one as they are the Biblical keepers of scripture since Moses. Anyone else, is not. Yah Bless.

Randy says it is his understanding that the Septuagint was translated by a group of Jews and not Greeks. Tim says there were no Hebrews in Egypt at the time the Septuagint was translated. 

This is an incredibly illiterate and ignorant answer coming from Mr. Schwab. The fact is Alexandria had a numerous population of Jews from the time of Alexander the Great and history attests to the fact that Jewish scholars were commissioned to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Our primary source for this information is the letter of Aristeas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_Aristeas

While many consider the letter to be pseudepigrapha the basic outline of the letter remains true.

In detail, the work relates how the king of Egypt, presumably Ptolemy II Philadelphus, is urged by his chief librarian Demetrios of Phaleron to have the Hebrew Law translated into Greek, and so add the knowledge of the Hebrews to the vast collection of books the empire had already collected. The king responds favorably, including giving freedom to Jews who had been taken into captivity by his predecessors, and sending lavish gifts (which are described in great detail) to the Temple in Jerusalem along with his envoys. The high priest chooses exactly six men from each of the twelve tribes, giving 72 in all; he gives a long sermon in praise of the Law. When the translators arrive in Alexandria the king weeps for joy and for the next seven days puts philosophical questions to the translators, the wise answers to which are related in full. The 72 translators then complete their task in exactly 72 days. The Jews of Alexandria, on hearing the Law read in Greek, request copies and lay a curse on anyone who would change the translation. The king then rewards the translators lavishly and they return home. Elements of this narrative are re-told in the Babylonian Talmud in Tractate Megillah.

The fact is that, contrary to what Timothy Jay Schwab claims, there was a sizable Jewish population in Alexandria and it is they who translated the Septuagint. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Alexandria

If one is going to base their canon of scripture by what is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls as Timothy Jay Schwab does there is no reason to reject the Septuagint as some Hebrew fragments found there agree with the Septuagint more than the Masoretic text. It is simply a fact of history that the Septuagint was widely used by the Jews, read by Jesus, cited by the Apostles, and continues to this day as the Scripture of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The reason the Jews ended up rejecting it is because the Christians adopted it as their own. 

Our second question this week comes from Joe Boakie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnf85Z_gVFI&lc=UgxBHaXx6_BY5u8j6OV4AaABAg 

JoeBokaie:  Another great video. I have a question regarding 2 Cor 12. Jesus said that no man except he has ascended to Heaven. In 2 Cor Chapter 12 when Paul speaks of his stoning, was he just given a vision of heaven? Did he go to paradise/Abraham's bosom?

The God Culture: All souls go into the chambers upon death including Messiah. He resurrected from there and is the first to ascend to Heaven indeed but that is where He went when He died not Heaven. Paul is certainly in Abraham's bosom. Enoch and Elijah did not die. Yah Bless.

Joe wants to know where Paul went when he spoke of his heavenly vision in 2 Corinthian 12.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/2-Corinthians-Chapter-12/

Tim responds by refusing to answer the question and by bringing up the impertinent subject of Enoch and Elijah whom Joe never mentioned. Absolutely incredible. To quote the 1995 classic film Billy Madison:

Mr. Schwab, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0

That's all for this time on Ask The God Culture. See you next time!

The God Culture: Ancient Greek Armor Found In Mindanao

Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture bolsters his claims that the Philippines is the ancient source of Greek gold, as if there were no gold mines in ancient Greece, by claiming that ancient Greek armor has been found in Mindanao.

https://youtu.be/kWjFtcV_6Nc

Beginning at 5:27 Timothy Schwab says:

"When we visited Butuan, Philippines in May we were actually able to see this Greek armor which was found in 2018 in the Philippines. The thing is these are indisputably Greek from the symbols and the structure and they are dated all the way back to 800 B.C. up to about 480 B.C. "

Now that is indeed rather interesting don't you think? Ancient Greek armor was found in Mindanao and dated between 800 and 480 B.C.? That would be a huge archaeological discovery seeing as Alexander did not even reach India until 326 B.C.! It would mean Greek soldiers marched or sailed to the Philippines BEFORE the Peloponnesian War. What can one do in the face of such overwhelming evidence that the Greeks were in the Philippines possibly only 300 years after the Trojan War? Question it and tear it apart of course.

I don't doubt that Timothy saw this armor. It obviously exists. Just look at the pictures. But where did he see it? A museum? Somewhere else? A search for news about this discovery leads to one and only one source which is a Youtube video posted by Kasaysayan Hunters on April 30th 2019.

As to the provenance of this discovery I think you will not be shocked to hear that these artifacts appeared suddenly out of nowhere.  From the video:

"In 2018 locals in Mindanao were surprised to find armor of a type they have never seen before complete with helmets and weapons, soon sold in the Philippine antiquities market. We were fortunate enough to track down two sets of these amours which may give us important insight into our ancient past." 

That is some stunning documentation right there. Unnamed locals found armor of a kind they had never seen before at an undisclosed location and quickly sold it on the Philippine antiquities market. What is this Philippine antiquities market anyway? Sounds like there is a thriving trade in antiquities on the black market in the Philippines.

The video offers no clue as to the origin of the armor. Rather than question its authenticity the narrator assumes it as a fact and goes on to describe all the details like the lions heads and anemones and gorgon heads carved into the armor as being genuinely Greek. They even expect us to believe that ancient Greeks wore helmets decorated with tokay geckos which are native to the Philippines and not Greece! Did the Greeks manufacture these helmets while in the Philippines?

The axe decorated with a lion's head we are told is a battle axe. Because when you want to kill someone in battle you definitely don't want an gigantic axe with a huge smooth, sharp edged double head.  You want a short and stylish decorative piece.

Here is a picture of the set in full.

Lots of questions need answering.

Where and how was this armor found?

How many more sets were found and where are they now?

What other artifacts were found in the vicinity?

Did any archaeologists visit the site where this armor was found?

Why is the armor in relatively good condition?

Who dated the armor to between 800 - 400 B.C. and what method did they use?
Has Greece been notified of this discovery?

Have any experts in Greek antiquities examined these artifacts?
What kind of tests have been run on this armor?  Metallurgical?

Where are these artifacts now and why does it look they are sitting on a house porch?

Is this the "Philippine antiquities market?"

Safe at home on the porch?

As Indiana Jones would say:

Apparently Tim and the God Culture did not think to ask any of these questions but accept these pieces as genuine ancient Greek armor with zero proof except that they look like Greek armor. One thing to note is that the pieces lying on the table are of a darker color than in the photo showing the full set.  That brings up a few more questions.

Where these pieces cleaned?
What were they cleaned with?
Were any kind of tests run on this armor before they were cleaned?

An image search for "Greek muscle cuirass" and "ancient Greek battle axe" gives results that look nothing like the armor above. There is armor with fake abs but not with lion heads and celestial wheels for nipples. Maybe such did exist but they are not coming up in any search online. And believe it or not those Greek battle axes have more of a Tibetan design than Grecian.

It's obvious that Tim does not believe these artifacts are genuine ancient Greek armor because they have been rigorously and thoroughly tested by experts and found to be so. He believes because it confirms his thesis that the Philippines is the ancient land of Ophir. He ignores what is so obviously gives away the fraud which is the tokay gecko on the helmet! But this would not be the first fact that Tim ignores.

To prove that the Greeks visited the Philippines Time produces a map, made in 1898 mind you, and points to two little islands labelled Chryse and Argyre and says this is Luzon and Mindanao!  Pray tell what happened to the Visayas?  You know, Negros, Iloilo, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, and all the rest which lie in between Luzon and Mindanao! His map and his assertions cannot account for them. Here is the map he shows.

What is the source of this map anyway? Well if you're not paying attention you will miss the reference which is in VERY TINY PRINT in the bottom left corner.  Let me show you.

Contrary to what the God Culture has claimed that is NOT 30 point font!

He even claims our sources are in very tiny print yet there are a 30 point font thus rather disingenuous as we have come to expect from this communist-style agitator. If you are viewing it on a cell phone screen perhaps it is small but plenty big when we create our slides and all right there to review which this writer has done with their confirmation bias.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-god-culture-100-clues-philippines.html?showComment=1580698889368#c5406023618075777202

I am viewing this on a 13-inch Macbook Pro and it's barely legible!! You have to zoom in to read it properly. It also doesn't help that there is a God Culture watermark superimposed over the map which they took from another source!! The source is atlantisjavasea.com. Specifically it is this page: https://atlantisjavasea.com/2015/09/26/taprobana-is-not-sri-lanka-nor-sumatera-but-kalimantan/. This is a web page dedicated to proving that Atlantis was located in Southeast Asia. Goodness knows how Tim ended up on this page but it should be noted that the map is an 1898 reconstruction of Mela by Konrad Miller. Mela himself never drew a map!

It should also be noted that Tim ignores all the scholarship regarding the identification of Chryse, Argyre, and the Golden Chersonesus which he encounters. In the book by Thomas Suarez which he cites the islands are identified as Malaya and Burma while the Golden Chersonesus is identified as the Malaya Peninsula. Has he read this book by Paul Wheatley?

https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/v692t6367

While the book is not available online the table of contents are and there is no hint of the Philippines. The subtitle also gives the game away.  "Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500."

There is simply no credible evidence that the Philippines are the islands Tim says they are or that the Greeks were ever here. However there is an article that makes this assertion which Tim has likely come across.

The Visayan Islands had earlier encounter with the Greek traders in 21 A.D. 2  (Felix Regalado and Quentin  B. Franco, History of Panay  (Ilo-ilo City  Central Philippines University , 1973) ed.,  Eliza B. Grimo, p. 78.)

http://cebu-online.com/swum/html/exhibits.html

Over at a message board about history this question of Greek traders in the Philippines was raised and the book cited as the source of this information, History of Panay, was located and the appropriate section quoted.

Professor Austin Craig, eminent student of Philippine history, said that the ancient traders of the Philippines exported sinamay cloth to Greece in A.D. 21 and Strabo, a Roman geographer of the First Century, referred to the commodity as "Ta see sika", or 'flex combed from the trees'. Manila hemp was well known to the Caesars of Rome, and sinamay cloth was once sold to the museum of Dresden, Germany for its antiquity.

https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/46708/did-greek-traders-visit-the-philippines-in-the-1st-century-ad

If you cross check the reference from Professor Austin Craig which is found in "A Thousand Years of Philippine History Before the Arrival of the Spanish" you find this subject of ancient Greek contact with the Philippines on the very first page.

The Philippine History of which one is apt to think when that subject is mentioned covers hardly a fourth of the Islands' book-recorded history.  

These records are not the romantic dream of a Paterno that under the name Ophir the Philippines with their gold enriched Solomon (l0th century B. C). They are solider ground than any plausible explanations that Manila hemp (abaka) was Strabo's (A. D. 21) "ta seerika," the cloth made of "a kind of flax combed from certain barks of trees." The shadowy identification of the Manilas with Ptolemy's Maniolas (c. A. D. 130) is not in their class. Nor, to accept them, is recourse needed to farfetched deductions like Zuniga's that the American Continent received Israel's ten lost tribes, and thence, through Easter Island, Magellan's archipelago was peopled. Their existence saves us from having to accept such references as how Sinbad the sailorman (Burton: The Arabian Nights, Night 538 et seq.) evidently made some of his voyages in this region, though it would not be uninteresting to note that the great Roc is a bird used in Moro ornament, the “ghoul" of the Thousand and One Nights is the Filipino Asuang and that the palm-covered island which was believed to be a colossal tortoise because it shook might well have been located where the Philippine maps indicate that earthquakes are most frequent.  

The records herein after to be cited are for the most part of the prosaic kind, all the more reliable and valuable because they are inclined to be dry and matter-of-fact. They make no such demand upon imagination as Europe’s pioneer traveller's tales, for instance the- sixteenth century chart which depicted America as inhabited by headless people with eyes, nose and mouth located in the chest. 

https://archive.org/stream/thousandyearsofp00crairich#page/n7/mode/2up

Read that carefully and see that the authors of the "History of Panay" misrepresent what Austin Craig writes.

Professor Austin Craig rejects the "romantic dream" of the Philippines being Ophir and Greeks trading in these islands. Instead He focuses his scholarship on written records and calls them "more reliable and valuable."  On the other end of the spectrum Timothy Jay Schwab and the God Culture latch on to every kind of myth and legend and reject what scholars have to say in order to promulgate their doctrine. Men like Professor Austin Craig and Thomas Suarez do history while Tim and his bunch engage in pseudo-history.

Let's say these are real ancient Greek artifacts and not just fakes manufactured by locals in Mindanao. That would change so much of what we know about history. It would mean that the Greeks were either sailing around Africa long before Bartolomeu Dias did in 1488 or marching overland to the East hundreds of years before Alexander. In short it would be a groundbreaking archeological discovery and the area where the armor was found would certainly be excavated for more artifacts. But since the source of our knowledge of these antiques is only one Youtube video and there are no scholarly references to this find in reputable journals and no news reports either it is a safe bet that this ancient Greek armor is a modern-day fraud. The Philippines may be the ancient land of Gold according to The God Culture but today it is most certainly the land of frauds, cheats, and thieves.

The God Culture: 100 Clues the Philippines is the Ancient Land of Gold Known as Ophir

"Welcome to 100 Clues the Philippines is the Ancient Land of Gold known as Ophir!"  So begins the first video in The God Culture's video series, "100 Clues the Philippines is the Ancient Land of Gold known as Ophir."

Thankfully these videos are short and to the point. They can be watched while eating a breakfast of rice and eggs or a lunch of rice and lechon or a dinner of rice and lumpia. That's a lot of rice! Rice for every meal! Is the abundance of rice in the Philippines one of the "100 Clues the Philippines is the Ancient Land of Gold known as Ophir?" Read on dear readers. If you have not read my previous exposé of The God Culture be sure to check it out.

Before we get to the clues we must take into account what Timothy Jay Schwab, CEO of Ocean Life Agency and head researcher at the God Culture, has to say about the purpose of these videos. 

"Welcome to 100 Clues the Philippines is the Ancient Land of Gold known as Ophir in the Bible and history. No, it's no fable and this has already been proven in full in The God Culture's Solomon's Gold series in such a definitive way that no historian, scholar, theologian has been able to disprove their findings in over two years. The few that have tried to debate have failed. 

"We've pulled out 100 clues from this research in which we will highlight briefs of the most compelling points and yes there are over 100! These videos are for those who have not had the time to watch Solomon's Gold series and a five minute or so video cannot replace that entire 50 video in-depth series nor prove the way that it does. But this will still be very effective nonetheless. So go there for full evidence but now our series 100 Clues the Philippines is Ophir...one clue at a time."

https://youtu.be/7vDhLkHrrLc

These 100 videos, only 50 as of this writing, are distillations of the much longer series Solomon's Gold.  While these videos are not a substitute for that in-depth series they serve as an effective means of getting the main message, that the Philippines is the land of Ophir, across to an audience who does not have time to watch the longer series. It's the Cliff Notes version if you will.

If you want to watch this series here is the playlist which is thankfully not a total mess like the Solomon's Gold series playlist. Tim should clean up his Youtube channel and only have the relevant videos in each playlist. The Solomon's Gold playlist has videos which do not belong in it.

On with the clues which I hope to sum up in a sentence or two. 

Clue #1

The Philippines is the number one land of gold in all of history. There is a lot of gold which has been mined over thousands of years and much more remains to be mined. This video was published on August 15, 2019 which means Tim was not aware of the approval of golden rice!  That's right golden rice! 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2228793-gm-golden-rice-gets-landmark-safety-approval-in-the-philippines/

The Philippines has become the first country with a serious vitamin A deficiency problem to approve golden rice – which is genetically modified to prevent the deficiency – as safe for humans and animals to eat. According to a government report, it is as safe as conventional rice varieties. 

“This is a victory for science, agriculture and all Filipinos,” member of congress Sharon Garin said in a statement. 

Golden rice has been altered produce the orange pigment beta-carotene, which the body can turn into vitamin A. Because rice is a major part of the diet in the Philippines, if children eat golden rice instead of normal rice, it should substantially reduce vitamin A deficiency.

Wow!! Truly the Philippines is the land of gold and rice and now golden rice!

Clue #2

The Philippines is the ancient source of Greek gold. The Greeks mention an island of gold known as Chryse and an island of silver known as Argyre. These islands are located east of the Ganges River. That means....the Philippines! Tim identifies Chryse as Luzon and Argyre as Mindanao. Who knew the Greeks circumnavigated Africa on a regular basis just to visit the Philippines!? Tim gets his information from a book titled "Early Mapping of Southeast Asia" by Thomas Suarez. 

Mr. Suarez is an expert in interpreting early cartography. He knows all there is to know about maps and geography from ancient times.

Thomas Suarez is a well-known authority on early maps whose previous books include Early Mapping of Southeast Asia (Periplus, 2000), which has become a standard work in the field. He has served as curator and advisor for collections and exhibitions dealing with the history of cartography, and has been an important source for early maps for the past twenty-five years.

About the Author

The book Tim quotes "has become a standard work in the field." That means what it says has authority.  Let us quote at length from the section of Suarez's book to which Timothy jay Schwab refers.

Chryse and Argyre 

Gold and silver, in fact, characterize the earliest extant specific Western Reference to Southeast Asia. Pomponius Mela (37 - 43 A.D.), a Roman geographer and native os Southern Spain, largely carried on the Greek tradition about the East, perpetuating stories about Amazons, people without heads, griffins, and other such characters, but adds two lands which lay to the east of India. One was Chryse, said to boast soil of gold, the other, Argyre, said to have soil of silver: 

In the vicinity of Tamus is the island of Chryse, in the vicinity of the Ganges that of Argyre, According to olden writers, the soil of the former consists of gold, that of the latter is of silver and it seems very probable that either the name arises from this fact or the legend derives from the name.

Mela was quoting earlier, unknown sources and he goes on to vaguely mention the possibility of a Southeast Asian peninsula: 

Between Colis [southeastern tip of Asia] and Tamus [China?] the coast runs straight. It is inhabited by retiring peoples who garner rich harvests from the sea. 

Pliny also alludes to a Southeast Asian peninsula. Noting that the Seres [Chinese] wait for trade to come to them, he lists three rivers of China, which are followed by “the promontory of Chryse” and then a bay. Elsewhere in his Natural history, however, Pliny refers to Chryse as an island. This discrepancy probably results from his having compiled news of the “land of gold” from contact via land (peninsula) and sea (island). It was more often mapped as an island in medieval mappaemundi. 

Chryse most likely represented Malaya, while Argyre was probably Burma, perhaps Arakan. Both are seen as islands in the world map after Mela, Chryse being the island off to the east Asian coast, and Argyre the island at the Ganges delta next to Taprobana. On the twelfth-century “Turin” world map they appear as a single island in the easternmost ocean sea, the right-hand isle of the two immediately above Adam and Eve (the left-hand isle is simply designated isult and this may have been for either Chryse or Argyre). 

Mention of Chryse is also made in the Periplus of the Erythean Sea, which describes Chryse as “the last part of the inhabited world toward the east, under the rising sun itself,”a land from which comes “the best tortoise-shell of all the places on the Erythean Sea.” The work’s anonymous author then described the land of This (China)  and Thinae, from which raw silk, silk yarn, and silk cloth, acquired through silent barter, were brought overland to India. Isidorus Hispalensis (Isidore of Seville, ca. 560-636 A.D.), in his Etymologiae, one of the most popular cosmographies of the Middle Ages, also placed the lands of Chryse and Argyre in the southeastern extreme of the world, along with the Taprobana and Tyle (Tile, an island near India.) 

Interestingly, Chryse and Argyre are reminiscent of some aspects of Buddhist cosmology where the waters that pour forth from Sumeru flow into four canals separated by four mountains, of which one is gold, another silver, and the other two, precious stones and crystal. The image of four canals separating four landmasses, can also be compared with a view of the Arctic region found in a medieval European text and used in later world maps by Renaissance cartographers Ruysch, Fine, and Mercator.

The search for gold also promoted intra-Asian maritime trade in the Indian Ocean during the first century A.D. As a result of the disruption by internal disorders of the traditional route through the steps of Central Asia to Siberian gold reserves, new sources for the metal, a medium of exchange between various Asian peoples, were sought. Rome decreased the gold content of its coins and introduces measures to halt their exportation. At the same time, new ocean-going vessels and navigational techniques made it more feasible for Indian merchants to pursue the “Islands of Gold” to their east.

The association of Southeast Asia with gold was so strong that Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews (second half of the first century), wrote that Ophir, the land fro which King Solomon had fetched gold, is now known as Aurea Chersoneus (Golden Peninsula, i.e. Malaya.) Josephus thus began the recurring idea that the Ophir of the Bible was in Southeast Asia, a belief that can be found in earnest through the latter nineteenth century. Various places were believed to have been the site of Ophir, from Malaya to Indochina, Sumatra, and the Pacific Ocean.

Early Mapping of Southeast Asia: The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers, and Cartographers Who First Mapped the Regions between China and India, Thomas Suarez, Pg 62-63

Mr. Schwab is fond of quoting Wikipedia. He even says in this video at 15:16:

"Greek history confirms exactly what Wikipedia had confirmed and so does Josephus. They don't speculate as to a possible location of Chryse/Ophir but they give exact directions and they map it. That map did not lead to Ethiopia did it? Nor Yemen, nor India. It leads to the Philippines." 

Actually Wikipedia says the opposite of what Timothy Jay Schwab is spouting and identifies the Aurea Chersoneus as the Malay peninsula.

The Golden Chersonese or Golden Khersonese (Ancient Greek: Χρυσῆ Χερσόνησος, Chrysḗ Chersónēsos; Latin: Chersonesus Aurea), meaning the Golden Peninsula, was the name used for the Malay Peninsula by Greek and Roman geographers in classical antiquity, most famously in Claudius Ptolemy's 2nd-century Geography.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Chersonese

The Wikipedia entry on Chryse and Argyre says nothing about the Philippines and relegates these two islands to legend.

Chryse and Argyre were a pair of legendary islands, located in the Indian Ocean and said to be made of gold (chrysos in Greek) and silver (argyros).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chryse_and_Argyre

What you have here is a classic case of confirmation bias. Rather than taking the source he quotes by Mr. Suarez in full and at face value, Tim picks and chooses what he will and then interprets that data in a manner that is totally opposite to the way it is presented in the book he references. At no time does Mr. Suarez hint that the islands of Chryse and Argyre could be the Philippines. Wikipedia also disagrees with Tim's conclusions as to the identity of the Aurea Chersonesus. Tim has messed up majorly by being dishonest with his sources. Cleary Tim has an agenda and the facts be damned! All the scholars are wrong and Tim, a man who studied business, marketing, and media and not languages or history, is right. The only real interesting thing in this video is that Tim tells us ancient Greek armor was found in Mindanao in 2018 but that deserves its own blog post. Let us press on.

Clue #3

Philippine gold has been found in first century Egypt. How did it get there? The Philippines ruled the seas and brought their gold all over the world in their junks and other large ships. The Philippines is the ancient land of gold exporters.  Allow me to point out that while he does list his sources they are all on the bottom of the screen in VERY TINY PRINT! He also does not show you the pages he is quoting from. That is bad form especially as many of these sources are not easily available. I wonder if he has actually read these sources or is quoting them secondhand. Let's find out.

This slide is the only time Philippine gold found in Egypt is mentioned. Tim neither shows us pictures of the gold nor tells us where the gold was found or anything else about the gold. In fact this video is about the ancient Philippine flotilla and not Philippine gold being found in first century Egypt. It's the ol' bait and switch! His sources are as follows:

1. Laszlo Legeza, "Tantric Elements in pre-Hispanic Philippines Gold Art," Arts of Asia, July-Aug, 1988, pp 129-136 

2. J.T. Peralta, "Prehistoric gold ornaments from the Central Bank of the Philippines," Arts of Asia 1981, no.4, p 54 

3. Ramon N. Villegas, "Ginto: History Wrought in Gold", Manila: Bangko Central ng Pilipinas", 2004

Tim tells his listeners to prove and test all things.

"This is from three very credible sources. You'll note the sources on every slide all the way through this series making it easier for you to confirm. So go ahead prove all things, confirm everything we say. We hope that you will."

How is one supposed to do that when these sources are unavailable to check so easily? Let's take the first source.  It's only available on backorder from Arts of Asia. For $15 they will airmail you a photocopy of the article.

https://www.artsofasianet.com/back_issues/back_issue.php?issue_code=1988_jul_aug

If you search the internet for this source you will come across many instances of this exact citation: 

"Legeza, Laszlo. "Tantric Elements in pre-Hispanic Philippines Gold Art," Arts of Asia, July-Aug. 1988, pp.129-136. (Mentions gold jewelry of Philippine origin in first century CE Egypt)" 

For example the book "Quests of the Dragon Clan and Bird Clan" has this citation. No publication with this citation actually quotes the relevant material but only asserts that this article mentions Philippine gold has been found in Egypt. Tim removes the part in parentheses but appeals to the article as being credible without telling us anything about what the article actually says about Philippine gold being found in Egypt.

Now let's look at the second source.  

J.T. Peralta, "Prehistoric gold ornaments from the Central Bank of the Philippines," Arts of Asia 1981, no. 4, p. 54 

A Google search will pull up many hits for that EXACT citation. Quests of the Dragon Clan and Bird Clan cites it. But every one of those citations is WRONG! This article does in fact exist but not in Arts of Asia 1981, no. 4, p. 54 but rather in Arts of Asia 1983, no. 4 p. 51! This article can also be ordered for $15.

https://www.artsofasianet.com/back_issues/back_issue.php?issue_code=1983_jul_aug

The fact that Timothy Jay Schwab  did not properly cite Peralta is a huge clue that he did not read the three sources he quotes. He doesn't even show us the sources themselves. That is because he is quoting them secondhand from people who are simply copy-pasting what everyone else has posted without checking the sources to read what they say. In fact these three sources in this same order are quoted on other pages discussing the Philippines as Ophir such as the following:

http://ancientphilippines.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-lost-tribe-of-israel-is-found.html 

https://mythworld.fandom.com/wiki/Chryse 

https://sightedmoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/The-Philippines-is-the-ancient-Ophir.pdf 

http://moments-salamera.blogspot.com/2013/02/philippines-old-name-is-it-ophir.html

Even Wikipedia has been bamboozled into accepting them, along with the erroneous citation of Peralta, as legitimate!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chryse_(placename)

Is it merely a coincidence that Tim and these other pages quote these same three sources in the same order including the erroneous citation of Peralta? A more likely explanation is that all these writers are copy-pasting from each other and ultimately have their origin in one corrupt source.

Tim tells us to confirm everything he says and I have just confirmed to you in Clues #2 and #3 that Timothy Jay Schwab is a liar who misrepresents his sources and sometimes does not even read them! He can prove me wrong by showing the relevant pages from each of the three sources he has cited about Philippine gold being found in first century Egypt.

Clue #4

The Boxer Codex. It is in the University of Indiana and is essentially buried because SOMEONE does not want us to know this history! The Philippines is the ancient land of gold and this fact began to "truly get suppressed on a massive scale" in 1891. The Boxer Codex shows Pinoys decked out in bling! Tim also quotes Guido de Lavezaris as saying:

"There are so many of these chiefs [decked out in gold] that they are innumerable."

Tim comments on this by saying:

"There are so many of these chiefs that they are innumerable!!  They cannot be numbered! Really? That's many thousands! So what is he describing here? The ancient form of government of the Philippines was the barangay system of many thousands of leaders which sound an awful lot like the very same system instituted by Moses in the Bible." 

Who knew that Moses set up the Philippine form of tribal government back at Mt. Sinai! Wow! But did Tim also realize that the manna which fell from heaven was white and rice, the staple of the Filipino diet, is also white? Coincidence!?

Clue #5

More of the Boxer Codex.  Pinoys wearing heavy gold chains.

Clue #6

The land of Ophir is critical to end time prophecy! King Solomon and Ophir are really real. This block with Hebrew writing proves it! 

To his critics Timothy Jay Schwab says:

"For those of you who say "Why don't you focus on salvation!?" Well there's an entire Bible out there and we aim to know it especially early Genesis. That is our calling and that is what we will focus on and that is what the Holy Spirit has had us do. Don't tell us otherwise." 

The fact that Tim does not prioritize salvation but compartmentalizes it to a side issue makes me wonder if he is a heretic. And I mean a real actual heretic who denies certain doctrines about Jesus Christ and not just that we don't agree on some points. Just what does he believe and teach about Jesus Christ? Tim says "the bible teaches relationship not religion" which is a hallmark of modern day emergent church gobbledygook. Fact is it teaches both.

That he separates history and salvation is very troubling. All the lost tribes talk I have ever listened to has focused on God directing history in order to preserve and save His people. Though they may be lost to history they are not lost to Him. Even in the Old Testament the history of Israel is part of the drama of salvation. That is the point of all the festivals like Passover and Tabernacles. For Tim to separate history and salvation makes his message meaningless. What is the point of the Philippines being Ophir or Filipinos being members of the lost tribes apart from their salvation? There is none! It becomes merely a neat historical fact and nothing more.

This blog post is already very long so I will stop here. There really is no reason to continue anyway.  Timothy misrepresents his sources, has not read some of them, and he does not have any theological grounding for his assertions about history. He misuses the Bible and other texts to confirm what he already believes about the Philippines. While many Lost Tribes proponents will talk about God's sovereignty and how history is controlled by Him we are six videos into this series and Tim has not mentioned God or His plan of salvation for His people once and in fact discounts any such talk saying the Holy Spirit has not called him to do so! Maybe Tim does not realize that the Bible, while replete with history, is not a history book but a religious text which deals primarily with the salvation of man and the Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus not the location of the land of Ophir.

Sadly enough two filmmakers have been duped by this shoddy "research" to the point that Tim and his wife have both signed a deal with them to work on a film about the Philippines being the land of Ophir.

https://www.facebook.com/ophirthelosttribe/posts/breaking-newsthree-years-ago-two-dedicated-researchers-timothy-schwab-and-his-wi/1138587833015269/

Three years ago, two dedicated researchers, Timothy Schwab and his wife, Anna Rose Zamoranos, released a very successful series entitled "The God Culture". This series currently appears on YouTube with over approximately 40 videos of content regarding the accurate locations of Ophir, Sheba, Tarshish, the Garden of Eden, Rivers from Eden, Land of Creation, and the Lost Tribes of Israel - which The God Culture traces to the Philippines.  

On June 12, 2019 (Independence Day), they signed a deal to work with the Ophir and The Lost Tribe Movie creators, Virgilio Abes Bote and award-winning Director Will Harper to give accurate accounts stated in the Bible about Ophir.  

We are excited and honored to have them on our team in making the Philippines and its people proud. The movie will be released internationally, stay tuned!!!!!!

Dedicated researchers!? What a joke! Neither Tim nor his wife even picked up on the fact that they have erroneously cited Peralta! That is some real lazy research!

Since there are 100 Clues maybe I will pick this back up in the future. But for now I think this is enough to show how ridiculous The God Culture and Timothy Jay Schwab are. I can just hear Tim now excoriating me for watching only 6 videos in the 100 Clues series rather then the whole Solomon's Gold series and saying I am uninformed, a hack, and a fraud. Such would be pure deflection on Tim's part as I have already demonstrated his research is incredibly biased, faulty, and downright dishonest. If he cannot deal honestly with his sources here he won't be dealing honestly with them there either.

The God Culture: Ask The God Culture: Which Language is the Original Philippine Dialect?

Welcome back to Ask The God Culture, the place where Timothy Jay Schwab will answer any question you may have. Our first question this week comes from Lisa Galindez. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIWsgUPuwUQ&lc=Ugzlz_Q2dxZrdn7UIO54AaABAg

Lisa Galindez: What language was the original Phillipine dialect, without all the other language mixed in. They are LEVI. our Priests and Priestesses.

The God Culture: Baybayin which has similarities to Ancient Hebrew. Yah Bless.

Lisa wants to know what the original Philippine dialect was before it was mixed with any other languages. Tim responds by saying it is Baybayin.

That is an incredibly wrong answer. Baybayin is not a  dialect. It is a script used to write the words of a dialect. Baybayin was used primarily by speakers of Tagalog but is found elsewhere within the Philippines. 

Baybayin  is a Philippine script. The script is an alphasyllabary belonging to the family of the Brahmic scripts. It was widely used in Luzon and other parts of the Philippines prior to and during the 16th and 17th centuries before being replaced by the Latin alphabet during the period of Spanish colonization. It was used in Tagalog and to a lesser extent Kapampangan speaking areas; its use spread to Ilokanos in the early 17th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, baybayin survived and evolved into multiple forms—the Tagbanwa script of Palawan, and the Hanuno'o and Buhid scripts of Mindoro—and was used to create the constructed modern Kulitan script of the Kapampangan and the Ibalnan script of the Palawan tribe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baybayin

Much the same way as the Latin script can be used to write Latin, Spanish, French, and English so Baybayin can be used to write Tagalog, Illocano, and Visayan.

This script also bears no relation to Hebrew. It originates from a completely different family of scripts known as Brahmic Scripts. 

Brahmi is a writing system of ancient South Asia that appeared as a fully developed script in the third century BCE. Its descendants, the Brahmic scripts, continue to be used today across South and Southeast Asia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmi_script

The real answer to Lisa's question is that there is no original Philippine dialect. That is because the Philippines is an archipelago composed of 7,000 islands and 134 ethnic groups. By some counts there are between 120 to 187 native languages spoken in the Philippines. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Philippines

The Philippines had contact with India, Indonesia, China, as well as the Lequois who hail from what are now known as the Ryukyu Islands. Thus there are many loan words in all Philippine dialects, especially Tagalog. It is the same for all languages.

Our second question comes from Ric Jamlig.

Answers in First Enoch Part 9: Enoch's Journey to the Garden of Eden in the Philippines 

Ric Jamlig: Flat earth? So how is it that it's morning here in manila with the Sun shining and there America is night?

Timothy Jay Schwab answers:

Oh, I'm sorry Ric. Timothy Jay Schwab deleted your question. Remember as Tim always says,

Don't try to comment in ignorance or you'll be muted.  Our channel, our rules.

Ric, it appears you have commented in ignorance and have been muted. Better luck in the future. 

That's all for this time on Ask The God Culture. See you next time!